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Exercise Accessories
Foam Roller
The self-massage cylinder, quantified in a meta-analysis of its effects on performance and recovery.
A foam roller is a dense cylinder used to apply rolling pressure to muscle — self-massage under body weight. Small massage balls apply the same idea to smaller areas.
What published research reports
A meta-analysis of 21 studies in Frontiers in Physiology (2019) reported that foam rolling before exercise produces small improvements in flexibility and sprint performance without harming strength, and that rolling after exercise slightly reduces the drop in performance and the muscle soreness that follow hard sessions. The authors describe the average effects as minor and note they may matter most where small margins count. The mechanisms reported in the literature are mostly neural — changed stretch tolerance — rather than physical change to the tissue itself.
References
- Wiewelhove T, et al. A Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Foam Rolling on Performance and Recovery. Front Physiol. 2019;10:376. Frontiers · PubMed Central
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